Treating the Illness: The School Practitioner's Response to Health-Related Student Death and Children's Grief

ABSTRACT

Although childhood death from health-related disorders has decreased dramatically in the United States due largely to advances in medical technology, it is an unfortunate fact of life that children can and do die from medical and health-related problems. A possible role for school psychologists in dealing with this situation is providing direct therapeutic services for children grieving the loss of a school friend or classmate due to a health-related disorder. The purpose of this article is to provide school psychologists with information regarding school-based interventions for children's grief following a health-related student death. A developmental framework for conducting grief work with children is presented, along with cultural considerations and recommendations for providing therapeutic supports for children affected by a child's death.

KEYWORDS:

• Children
• grief
• schools
• health-related disorders

This article is dedicated to Jeffrey A. Palmer (1962–1976) and Lucas S. Livingston (1985–1992).